An arrangement for transporting articles, in particular packages of rectangular box-like shape, towards a packaging machine. Such an arrangement may have a single or plural paths and at least one slider and one curved guide.
It is frequently the case in the packaging industry to transport articles, e.g. packages, from the packaging machine proper to a post treatment machine which is disposed downstream therefrom, e.g. a package collecting machine. In such an arrangement it is possible that the articles, respectively packages, are guided, without being rotated or they also can be rotated, e.g., about an angle of about 90.degree., towards the collecting machine. Frequently, the packages must not only be slidably transported and rotated, but also must be collected in a predetermined juxtaposed array.
An arrangement for continuous production of a packaging line from rows of packages is described in the German published Patent Application No. 2506496. In this known arrangement, a group of a plurality of sliders extends over the entire width of a to be released package row. This group of sliders produces a packaging line from the packaging row by means of a single feed motion of the slider group. For this purpose, the outer packages of the row are slid inwardly in the transport feed direction by means of inwardly bent sliders, which collect the packages with an inwardly bent fixed flank. The outer packages of the package row are inwardly slid into a packaging Line. By means of such an arrangement, the packages can either turn or cannot be turned.
An arrangement for transporting of articles towards a packaging machine, by means of which the articles are transported without being turned as well as also being transported and turned towards a transport band onto which they are delivered, is known from the German published Patent Application No. 1910828. By such an arrangement there can however only be delivered individual packages, e.g., from a table onto a transport band. A collecting of a plurality of packages in a particular order is not possible with such an arrangement. In such an arrangement there are always required additional mechanical motions for the sliding, turning, and collecting of the packages, respectively arrangements, which make the packaging machine not only complex but also subject to frequent malfunctioning. In addition thereto, it must be taken into consideration that for the aforedescribed motions only a relatively short time is available, so that the articles respectively packages, are highly loaded.